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U.S. airlines canceled hundreds of flights on Friday, hours after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the cuts amid the government shutdown.
The reduction hit 40 airports, including some of the nation’s largest ones.
The Department of Transportation warned cancellations could increase, and travel industry executives cautioned passengers to be flexible.

U.S. airlines started canceling hundreds of flights on Friday, hours after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered the cuts amid the more-than-monthlong government shutdown.
The reductions were ordered as air traffic controllers have missed their paychecks due to the government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history. Air traffic control staffing shortages have been disrupting flights at several major U.S. airports, vexing travelers and airline executives alike.

Air traffic controller shortages were delaying flights at several major U.S. airports on Friday, including Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, San Francisco International Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta.
The sudden flight cuts this week forced airlines to scramble with schedule adjustments and making sure crews are where they need to be despite the last-minute changes.
Roughly 780 U.S. flights were canceled as of 2 p.m. ET Friday, according to aviation data firm Cirium, about 3% of the total schedule for the day. That scale of disruption is fairly common for routine disruptions like major thunderstorms, but the Department of Transportation warned that cancellations could ramp up.

Travelers wait in line at a security checkpoint at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois on November 7 2025.
Kamil Krzaczynski | Afp | Getty Images

According to the FAA’s order, the flight cuts will increase to 10% over the next week, beginning with 4% on Friday, 6% by Tuesday, 8% by Thursday and finally 10% on Nov. 14.
Friday’s cancellation levels were the 72nd worst for the U.S. flights market since Jan. 1, 2024, according to Cirium. That period also included a Southwest Airlines Christmas meltdown after severe weather and mass delays at Delta Air Lines last summer in the wake of a CrowdStrike tech outage.

While the FAA required airlines to make cuts, the general aviation sector, which includes private jets, was not required to make similarly broad cuts. The order, however, said that staffing shortages could affect general aviation and that those private flights could face up to 10% cuts at airports that the agency designated “high-impact,” including New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport and Texas’ William P. Hobby Airport in Houston and Dallas Love Field.
The FAA didn’t respond to requests for comment.
A spokesman for the National Business Aviation Association said the industry is also affected by air traffic staffing shortages and reduced capacity, and that airports could deny some airplanes the ability to land there.NBAA’s president and CEO Ed Bolen said that “our sector will continue to pursue mandatory and voluntary means to ensure we are part of the solution to the challenges posed in the current environment.”
The financial impact of the latest disruptions isn’t immediately clear. The cancellations could help lift airlines’ unit revenue with customers competing for fewer seats, “but we also believe the prolonged shutdown and widespread cancelations will impact booking demand in the near term,” Scott Group, an airline analyst at Wolfe Research, wrote in a note Friday.
The cuts come during a generally low-demand period for travel ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, but it still sent many travelers searching for alternatives. Rental car company Hertz said that reservations over the past two days for one-way rentals spiked more than 20% from the same period last year.

Major network airlines said the disruptions were largely centered on regional flights that fly to smaller cities. United Airlines, for example, said its hub-to-hub flying and its long-haul international flights wouldn’t be canceled because of the order.
American Airlines, for its part, said it was limiting disruptions to customers by avoiding cuts to routes it only flies once or twice a day. Instead, the airline is trimming a few flights a day from high-frequency markets – like reducing daily departures between its hub at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Northwest Arkansas National Airport from 10 to eight, and Boston Logan International to Ronald Reagan Washington National from 10 to nine.
The carrier canceled 221 flights on Friday, according to CEO Robert Isom, who said the airline is “frustrated” with the reduction.
Isom said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the airline is working to ensure flights to all destinations still remain in place, but that the frequency of those flight paths is decreasing.
“What we’ve done today is we tried to minimize the impact on all of our customers — there’s only 220 flights out of 6,200 flights, and we’ve done it in a way that really impacts our smaller aircraft,” Isom said. “This level of cancellation is going to grow over time, and that’s something that is going to be problematic.”

What passengers need to know

Airlines offered travelers alternative flights and waived change fees for affected customers.
Experts recommend staying on top of changing schedules by checking airline apps and websites, as well as reviewing the fine print on travel insurance.
AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said the company recommends arriving at the airport two hours early to avoid long lines and avoid checking in a bag if possible in case flights get canceled, though flexibility will be the most important for all travelers during this period.
Travel insurance experts warn that policies don’t always offer blanket protection for shutdown-related changes, and that refunds can often come down to the specific rationale used by the airline to determine the cause of delay or cancellation.
According to Lauren McCormick, a spokesperson for travel insurance platform Squaremouth, airlines sometimes won’t cite causes other than general delays even during a shutdown, which could make it harder to get a refund. Some credit cards provide trip insurance, but it’s not a guarantee.
Here’s where flights are expected to be cut, per the FAA and DOT order:

Impacted airports:

ANC – Anchorage International
ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
BOS – Boston Logan International
BWI – Baltimore/Washington International
CLT – Charlotte Douglas International
CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
DAL – Dallas Love
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National
DEN – Denver International
DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
EWR – Newark Liberty International
FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International
HNL – Honolulu International
HOU – Houston Hobby
IAD – Washington Dulles International
IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental
IND – Indianapolis International
JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International
LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International
LAX – Los Angeles International
LGA – New York LaGuardia
MCO – Orlando International
MDW – Chicago Midway
MEM – Memphis International
MIA – Miami International
MSP – Minneapolis/St. Paul International
OAK – Oakland International
ONT – Ontario International
ORD – Chicago O’Hare International
PDX – Portland International
PHL – Philadelphia International
PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International
SAN – San Diego International
SDF – Louisville International
SEA – Seattle/Tacoma International
SFO – San Francisco International
SLC – Salt Lake City International
TEB – Teterboro
TPA – Tampa International

(The airport in Las Vegas was renamed the Harry Reid International Airport in 2021.)
— CNBC’s Greg Iacurci contributed to this report. More

President Donald Trump struck landmark deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that could mark a turning point in access to their costly blockbuster obesity drugs. 
Medicare will start covering GLP-1s for obesity for certain patients for the first time beginning in mid-2026 – a shift that some experts say will open access to millions of older adults and could spur more employers and other private insurers to follow suit.
The deals could also address gaps in access for patients with limited or no insurance coverage for obesity drugs by offering the treatments at a discount on the Trump administration’s direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx.gov. 

US President Donald Trump makes an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Nov. 6, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Thursday struck landmark deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that could mark a turning point in how many people can access their costly blockbuster obesity drugs. 
Under the agreements, Medicare will start covering GLP-1s for obesity for certain patients for the first time beginning in mid-2026 – a shift that will open access to millions of older adults and could spur more employers and other private insurers to follow suit, some experts said. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are also lowering the prices that all state Medicaid programs will pay for GLP-1s, but it’s up to states to opt into coverage. 

Obesity drug coverage among state Medicaid plans, employers and other private insurers remains spotty due to the $1,000 or more monthly list prices of existing GLP-1s, including Eli Lilly’s obesity injection Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s competitor Wegovy. 
The limited insurance coverage has blocked out patients who can’t afford their hefty price tags. That lack of access has led to mounting pressure on health plans and the government to expand coverage — and the government agreements with drugmakers could mark a major shift.
“I think it’ll start with the government, start with Medicare, and the insurers will quickly follow,” Nick Fabrizio, an associate teaching professor in Cornell’s health policy program, told CNBC. “I do think that’s coming.”
“This is a great step towards trying to address a chronic and serious issue, and for those patients who may feel like they have no hope,” he said.
Roughly 8 to 9 million people in the U.S. are using GLP-1s, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said at a briefing with reporters on Thursday. The added Medicare coverage under the deal could bring in as many as 40 million new eligible patients, and prompt more commercial plans to cover the medicines, he said.

The deals could also address the inability of many patients with limited or no insurance coverage for obesity drugs to access them, by offering the treatments at a discount on the Trump administration’s direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx.gov. 
The monthly out-of-pocket cost of existing injections and upcoming pills could range from $50 to $350 starting next year, depending on the dosage and insurance coverage a patient has. 
Still, there is a law prohibiting Medicare from covering weight loss drugs, so any changes would have to come from Congress. Eli Lilly’s Ricks told reporters Thursday that for now, the government will launch an initial pilot program in the spring of 2026 under a temporary legal mechanism. It would be voluntary for Medicare prescription drug plans, so “it may be possible that a few plans do not participate, but I would expect almost all do,” he said. 
But Ricks said that it will transition into a formal so-called Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation pilot program in 2027, which means it will be mandatory for all Medicare Part D plans.
“So we expect broad coverage in all plans both in 2026 and beyond,” he said.

Medicare coverage could be a sea change

Likely the most notable feature of the deals is Medicare coverage of obesity drugs, as it will allow the treatments to reach new patients in the program and could lead to broader private insurance coverage. 
Under the deals, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk agreed to cut the price Medicare and Medicaid pay for GLP-1s to $245 per month. In Medicare specifically, certain patients will pay a copay of $50 per month for all approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 drugs, including diabetes and obesity treatment.
But the Trump administration is putting some constraints on which Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible to receive GLP-1s for obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. People who qualify include patients with a body mass index of 27 or above with prediabetes or established cardiovascular disease; people with a BMI of 30 or more with related health conditions; or those with severe obesity, or a BMI of 35 and above. 
GLP-1s for weight loss are approved for a broader population: people who have obesity or are overweight with one related condition. In a note Thursday, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger also said it’s unclear whether the government will allow patients to stay on a GLP-1 for obesity after their BMI levels drop. 
Even with those restrictions, “I think in practice, it’s still going to cover a fair number of people,” said Darius Lakdawalla, chief scientific officer at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center.
JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said the eligibility criteria mean 80% of the obese population in Medicare could receive coverage for GLP-1s, despite the limits.
“Today’s deal will open up meaningful access to obesity drugs,” Schott said in a note about Eli Lilly on Thursday. 
Lakdawalla added that while there isn’t clear evidence that private insurers will expand coverage on the heels of government plans, “it’s just optically harder for them to continue to constrain coverage when Medicare and Medicaid are covering them.” 
“That’s going to exert some pressure for commercial coverage of these drugs to expand as well,” Lakdawalla said. 
Coverage for GLP-1s for obesity has ticked up slightly, but remains sparse: A May survey of more than 300 companies by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found that 36% provided coverage for GLP-1s for both weight loss and diabetes, up from 34% in 2024. 

Medicaid, direct-to-consumer offerings could fill gaps

Lakdawalla said the direct-to-consumer offerings under the deal could be useful for people who are underinsured, uninsured or may not have coverage for obesity medicines. Still, it’s unclear how many more patients the drugs will reach due to the offerings. 
Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have introduced lower cost options for their drugs for people paying in cash and purchasing the drugs directly through their websites. But the deals with Trump will give those patients even bigger discounts.
On TrumpRx, the average monthly cost for Wegovy, Zepbound and other injectable GLP-1s will start at $350 and drop to $250 within the next two years, according to senior Trump administration officials. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk both offered some GLP-1s on their direct-to-consumer platforms for up to $450 to $500 per month.
Starting doses of obesity pills from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk — expected to hit the market next year — will be $149 per month on TrumpRx, Medicare and Medicaid.  
Eli Lilly on Thursday said it would lower prices by $50 on its own direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already offers Zepbound and other drugs at a discount to cash-paying patients. The multidose pen of Zepbound will be available for $299 per month at the lowest dose, with additional doses being priced up to $449 per month.
In terms of Medicaid, Cornell’s Fabrizio said states will likely want to start covering obesity drugs at the lower price point, “but the question is how will they pay for it?”
Around a dozen state Medicaid programs cover obesity drugs, according to 2024 estimates from KFF, a health policy research organization. While GLP-1s offer substantial health benefits to Medicaid beneficiaries, state programs are already facing constrained budgets and administrative demands.
Fabrizio added that raising taxes to cover the drugs “could be a sticky issue.”
Still, JPMorgan’s Schott said offering lower prices to Medicaid programs could lead to a “significant increase in coverage” in that channel, where Zepbound has very limited uptake.  More

“OTHER SHAREHOLDER meetings are like snooze fests,” declared Elon Musk, Tesla’s bumptious boss, as he took to the stage on November 6th. “Ours are bangers.” Napping while Mr Musk danced along to a funk soundtrack with one of the company’s Optimus androids would indeed have been difficult. More

Peloton beat Wall Street’s expectations on the top and bottom lines for its fiscal 2026 first quarter earnings.
The company raised its adjusted EBITDA guidance and issued a holiday sales forecast that beat expectations.
Earlier in the day, Peloton said it was doing yet another voluntarily recall impacting products from its early lineup.

A Peloton stationary bicycle inside a store in Palo Alto, California, US, on Monday, Aug. 5, 2024. 
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Peloton on Thursday posted its second profitable quarter in a row as it released strong guidance for the crucial holiday shopping season, banking on its relaunched product assortment to drive growth. 
The connected fitness company posted a surprise net income of $13.9 million in the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with a loss of $900,000 a year earlier. 

For the current quarter, Peloton’s strongest for hardware sales, the company is expecting revenue to be between $665 million and $685 million, a slight increase from the year-ago period and largely better than Wall Street expectations of $665 million, according to LSEG. 
Peloton also raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA outlook and is now expecting it to be between $425 million and $475 million, up $25 million from its previous outlook on both ends. Much of that forecast is ahead of analyst expectations of between $400 million and $450 million, according to StreetAccount. 
Shares jumped about 11% in extended trading Thursday.
Despite the good news, Peloton is still dealing with issues from its past. Earlier on Thursday, it said it was initiating yet another recall from its early product lineup. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the company was recalling 833,000 of its original Bike+ devices after receiving reports that the seat post can break and detach during a ride – the same issue that prompted a recall of its base Bike model in 2023. 
“We have received a small number of reports of an original series Bike+ seat post breaking during use. As of today, we are aware of three such incidents,” Peloton CEO Peter Stern said on the company’s earnings call Thursday.

Peloton’s latest recall cost the company $13.5 million during the quarter reported Thursday, contributing to a 0.3 percentage point decline in its gross margin.
For its first fiscal 2026 quarter reported Thursday, Peloton beat analyst expectations on the top and bottom lines. 
Here’s how the fitness company did in its first fiscal quarter compared with what Wall Street was anticipating, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 3 cents vs. 0 cents expected
Revenue: $551 million vs. $540 million expected

Sales dropped to $551 million, down about 6% from $586 million a year earlier. 
Under the direction of Stern, who took the helm in January, the connected fitness company has been finalizing its cost cuts and turning its attention back to growth now that it’s back to regularly generating free cash flow and operating profitably. 
“Our intent is to go well beyond [cardio connected fitness]… we’ve got strength, we’ve got mental, mental wellbeing, nutrition and hydration and sleep and recovery,” Stern said. “We are focused on growth, but the growth needs to be profitable … both in top line growth as well as increased margins associated with that business as well.”
Last month, Peloton relaunched its product assortment, introduced a commercial equipment line and raised prices for both subscriptions and hardware ahead of the holiday shopping season. 
The revamped assortment, touching its bike, rowing machine and treadmill products, features an AI-powered tracking camera, speakers, a 360-degree swivel screen and hands-free control, among other new features. 
“Our launch of an entirely new product lineup with the cross training series, is a great reason for us to talk to our members and nonmembers alike,” Stern said.
Peloton is betting consumers will be willing to spend big on the products for flashy holiday gifts, either for themselves or a loved one. But just over a month into the launch, it remains unclear how they’re performing. The company’s first fiscal quarter ended the day before the new products were launched. 
Across the retail industry, the personal electronics category has been under pressure. 
While Peloton operates in a category of its own, shoppers have been pulling back on other big-ticket items and being more careful about where their dollars are going in an unsteady economic environment. 
After Peloton’s last recall, the company said at the time that it saw higher-than-expected membership churn and costs as a result.
– CNBC’s Luke Fountain contributed to this report More

President Donald Trump announced deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to slash the prices of some of their obesity drugs, including upcoming pills, in a landmark effort to expand access to the costly blockbuster treatments. 
The agreements will lower prices of GLP-1 drugs on Medicare and Medicaid and offer the treatments directly to consumers at a discount on a website the Trump administration is launching in January 2026 called TrumpRx.gov.
The deals are among the most politically significant announcements to date in the Trump administration’s efforts to rein in high U.S. drug costs by tying them to the lowest prices abroad.

U.S. President Donald Trump attends an event to make an announcement from the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. Nov. 6, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters

President Donald Trump on Thursday announced deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to slash the prices of some of their obesity drugs, including upcoming pills, in a landmark effort to expand access to the costly blockbuster treatments.
The agreements will cut prices of so-called GLP-1 drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 2026 and offer the treatments directly to consumers at a discount on a website the Trump administration is launching in January called TrumpRx.gov.

That means Medicare will start covering obesity drugs for some patients for the first time starting mid-2026, a long-awaited move that could broaden the market for the medicines and spur more private insurers to cover them. Certain Medicare patients will pay a copay of $50 per month for all approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 drugs, including diabetes and obesity treatment.
Starting doses of upcoming obesity pills from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, pending approvals, will be $149 per month for everyone getting them through Medicare, Medicaid or TrumpRx, a senior administration official who declined to be named told reporters during a briefing Thursday.
Novo Nordisk’s oral version of its obesity injection Wegovy could enter the market by year-end, while Eli Lilly’s pill orforglipron could launch next year. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it has awarded priority review vouchers, which expedite the review timelines of Eli Lilly’s pill.
Starting doses of existing injections like Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound will be $350 per month on TrumpRX, but will “trend down” to $245 per month over a two-year period, another senior administration official said during the briefing.

Charts showing drug prices and information are displayed as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on lowering drug prices in the Oval Office at the White House on Nov. 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

Wegovy and Zepbound have not been covered by Medicare for weight loss, “and they’ve only rarely been covered by Medicaid,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They’ve often cost consumers more than $1,000 per month, some a lot more than that. … That ends starting today.”

The deals are among the most politically significant announcements to date in the Trump administration’s push to rein in high U.S. drug costs by tying them to the lowest prices abroad. As part of the president’s “most favored nation” policy, he has announced deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to sell certain drugs directly to patients at a discount, in exchange for exemptions from planned pharmaceutical tariffs.
“This is the biggest drug in our country, and that’s why this is the most important of all the [most favored nation] announcements we’ve made,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during the briefing. “This is going to have the biggest impact on the American people. All Americans, even those who are not on Medicaid, Medicare, are going to be able to get the same price for their drugs, for their GLP-1s.”
Kennedy claimed the American public will lose 125 million pounds by this time next year, saying the expanded access will have “dramatic effects on human health” in the U.S.
The event was delayed when a man who was standing behind Trump fainted.

President Donald Trump stands by as attendees help a man after he collapsed during during an event on lowering drug prices in the Oval Office at the White House on November 06, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik | Getty Images

The list prices of existing obesity drugs – roughly $1,000 to $1,350 per month before insurance – are a huge barrier for patients, many of whom could benefit from their ability to promote weight loss and ease other related health complications such as cardiovascular risks and sleep apnea. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk already have programs to sell their weight loss drugs at a discount directly to cash-paying consumers, but the new agreements appear to take those efforts to boost access a step further. 
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have agreed to cut the price Medicare pays for GLP-1s it already covers for diabetes and other indications, along with those drugs for obesity, to $245 per month. The companies agreed to extend lower government pricing for their GLP-1 drugs – $245 per month across all other nonstarting doses – to all 50 Medicaid programs for all covered uses. States will have to opt into those prices, meaning some may not.
But Medicare coverage could have a bigger impact on who gets the drugs because the program covers about 66 million people, and is the primary source of insurance for people ages 65 and above. The new obesity drug coverage will be enabled through a pilot program designed to cover a majority of beneficiaries under Medicare Part D, which are the program’s prescription drug plans.
Another senior administration official said around 10% of Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible to receive GLP-1s for obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. Eligible patients will fall into three cohorts. The first includes those who are overweight, with a body mass index greater than 27 or with prediabetes or established cardiovascular disease.

More CNBC health coverage

The second group is people with obesity – with a BMI greater than 30 – and uncontrolled hypertension, kidney disease or heart failure. The third group is patients with severe obesity, or anyone with a BMI greater than 35.
GLP-1s for weight loss are approved for a much broader population: people who have obesity or are overweight with one related condition. The administration official said, “We are constraining the access for patients that will benefit clinically from it, we’ve worked very hard to strike a balance between broad access that just makes sure to capture patients that will benefit clinically.”
As part of the deals, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk also made similar pledges to the ones other drugmakers have made as part of Trump’s most favored nation agreements. The companies will guarantee most favored nation pricing on all new medicines they bring to market, provide that pricing to every state Medicaid program, offer at least U.S. net prices or most favored nation pricing on nearly all primary care drugs on TrumpRx and share savings from foreign drug price increases on existing products, one senior administration official said. 
Also on Thursday, Eli Lilly said it would lower prices by $50 on its own direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already offers Zepbound at a discount to cash-paying patients. The multidose pen of Zepbound will be available at $299 per month at the lowest dose, with additional doses being priced up to $449 per month. 
Eli Lilly’s pill, once approved, will be available at the lowest dose starting at $149 per month. 

A major pricing change

In a statement Thursday, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the deal marks “a pivotal moment in U.S. health care policy and a defining milestone for Lilly,” which is focused on “improving outcomes, strengthening the U.S. healthcare system, and contributing to the health of our nation for generations to come.”

David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, speaks in the Oval Office during an event about weight-loss drugs at the White House in Washington, DC on November 6, 2025.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | Afp | Getty Images

In a separate statement, Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said, “today’s announcement will bring semaglutide medicines to more American patients at a lower cost.” Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.
It’s not the first time the government has floated Medicare coverage of obesity drugs. Former President Joe Biden proposed a rule at the end of his term that would have allowed the program to cover those treatments, but the Trump administration in April declined to finalize the measure. 
Biden’s proposal would have extended access to roughly 3.4 million Medicare beneficiaries. But it was controversial at the time, as it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over nine years, a congressional analysis found.
But some health experts contend that covering the drugs could eliminate the downstream costs involved with treating obesity-related conditions. 
Semaglutide is also included in the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022. Trump is expected to unveil the new prices of the 15 drugs selected for those talks by Nov. 30. 
Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and diabetes injection Mounjaro, likely won’t be eligible for those negotiations until the end of the decade.  More

The Federal Aviation Administration announced it would implement a reduction in flights across the country due to the government shutdown.
Air traffic controllers have gone unpaid since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.
Experts recommend downloading airline mobile apps and enabling notifications to stay on top of cancellations and schedule changes.

A Republic Airways plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025.
Samuel Corum | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Airlines rushed to provide travelers updates after the Federal Aviation Administration said it would reduce flights across 40 airports as the longest government shutdown in history continues to drag on.
Many major airlines said they would waive cancellation fees for even their most basic tickets, which often come with penalties for changes.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously said he would reduce flight capacity by roughly 10%, affecting 3,500 to 4,000 flights daily.
The FAA has not yet announced which “high traffic” airports would be affected.
These are the airports that are expected to be impacted, based on preliminary information before the agency meets with airlines to finalize cuts, CNBC’s Phil LeBeau reported. The preliminary list includes some of the country’s largest airports and major international hubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City.

Preliminary list:

ANC – Anchorage International
ATL – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
BOS – Boston Logan International
BWI – Baltimore/Washington International
CLT – Charlotte Douglas International
CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
DAL – Dallas Love
DCA – Ronald Reagan Washington National
DEN – Denver International
DFW – Dallas/Fort Worth International
DTW – Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County
EWR – Newark Liberty International
FLL – Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International
HNL – Honolulu International
HOU – Houston Hobby
IAD – Washington Dulles International
IAH – George Bush Houston Intercontinental
IND – Indianapolis International
JFK – New York John F. Kennedy International
LAS – Las Vegas McCarran International
LAX – Los Angeles International
LGA – New York LaGuardia
MCO – Orlando International
MDW – Chicago Midway
MEM – Memphis International
MIA – Miami International
MSP – Minneapolis/St. Paul International
OAK – Oakland International
ONT – Ontario International
ORD – Chicago O’Hare International
PDX – Portland International
PHL – Philadelphia International
PHX – Phoenix Sky Harbor International
SAN – San Diego International
SDF – Louisville International
SEA – Seattle/Tacoma International
SFO – San Francisco International
SLC – Salt Lake City International
TEB – Teterboro
TPA – Tampa International

On Wednesday, Duffy said the reduction was a “proactive” measure because of the delays and cancellations already occurring due to the shutdown. Air traffic controllers, who are considered essential employees required to work during a shutdown, have missed paychecks, and the FAA has said the closure has also raised concerns about already thin staffing among controllers.
Duffy said he expects more cancellations as a result of the reduction, which has no set end time.

“We thought 10% was the right number based on the pressure we were seeing,” Duffy added.
Earlier this week, Duffy told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he could “shut the whole airspace down” if the shutdown drags on.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Wednesday that additional measures may be implemented after the reduction, which he said he has never seen before in his time in the industry. The officials said they were planning to meet with airlines to discuss which flights would be cut.

Airline response

In a Wednesday memo to United Airlines employees, CEO Scott Kirby said the carrier will not be reducing long-haul international flying and hub-to-hub flying, instead reducing regional and domestic flights that do not fly between hubs.
The airline also offered all customers refunds even if their flights are not impacted. Kirby said that included “non-refundable tickets and those customers with basic economy tickets.”
On Thursday afternoon, the airline preemptively said it was going to cancel 4% of its flights from Friday through Sunday.
In a statement, Delta Air Lines said it expects to operate the “vast majority” of its flights as scheduled and will offer changes, cancellations or refunds for customers’ flights during the impacted period. Delta also said that would include basic economy fares, without penalty.
The airline added on Thursday afternoon that it will cancel flights a day in advance to allow customers enough time. Delta has already canceled 170 flights scheduled for Friday.
Frontier Airlines CEO Barry Biffle said he highly recommends travelers flying Friday or in the next 10 days book a backup ticket on another carrier as the flight reductions begin to avoid getting stranded due to cancellations.
“I’m sorry this is happening. Hopefully the shutdown is over soon,” Biffle wrote on LinkedIn. “Just giving everyone practical travel advice.”
American Airlines said it expects that the “vast majority of customers’ travel will proceed as planned,” adding that the carrier will reach out to travelers proactively as schedule changes occur.
The airline also said that it will offer immediate rebooking options for all impacted travelers and that customers whose flights are canceled for any reason will be able to change their flight or request a refund without penalty. As of Thursday morning, the airline was still awaiting clarifying information from the FAA about which of its flights will be impacted.
Southwest Airlines also released a statement saying that the majority of its flights will not be impacted and that its international flights should operate as usual. The airline said it will “proactively communicate well in advance and will offer flexibility in travel plans.”
The Association of Flight Attendants, representing 55,000 flight attendants at 20 airlines, released a statement Wednesday urging Congress to end the shutdown so air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers can get paid.
“The false narrative that this shutdown is a choice of either paying federal workers or protecting affordable healthcare is outrageous when both crises were manufactured by the exact people who can fix it,” the statement read.

What travelers need to know

Passengers check in at an American Airlines’ counter at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Arlington, Virginia, the United States, on Oct. 10, 2025.
Li Rui | Xinhua News Agency | Getty Images

Experts recommend consumers who are set to travel in the next week stay on top of flight cancellations and delays through the websites and apps.
Nick Ewen, senior editorial director at travel site The Points Guy, said flexibility “is going to be key” as travelers rush to rebook, adding it’s important to download each airline’s mobile app and enable all notifications.
“A lot of the times, you have to actually enable notifications on individual trips or in your account to text you if there are changes or disruptions,” Ewen told CNBC.
He recommended anyone with nonurgent travel reschedule their trips, though that likely only applies to a small number of travelers, and consider choosing other forms of transportation instead. For essential trips, Ewen said passengers should be prepared for long wait times, use self-service rebooking tools, and be aware of the fact that many other people will also be rebooking and scrambling for limited seats.
Ewen said he has been covering the industry for many years, and the last time he and his colleagues saw a major, national disruption in air travel like this was 9/11.
“The biggest thing is a lot of kindness goes a long way,” he said. “So if you’re at an airport and you find out that your flight is canceled, I promise you screaming at that airline employee is not going to get you rebooked any faster — in fact, it’s probably going to make them less likely to be willing to help you. So recognize that everyone is in this together.”
AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said the company recommends arriving at the airport extra early to avoid long lines and avoid checking in a bag if possible in case flights get canceled.
“Ultimately, there’s a lot that’s out of travelers’ control — so control what you can, and be as flexible as possible,” Diaz said.

Travel insurance

Travel insurance can reimburse consumers for certain costs and inconveniences incurred from a trip disruption, like flight cancellations, delays, lost luggage, or unforeseen costs for lodging and meals.
Consumers have been buying travel insurance at an elevated rate amid the government shutdown, but travel and insurance experts warn that such policies don’t offer blanket protection for shutdown-related travel snafus, and a lot depends on the fine print.
For example, a policyholder generally can’t get insurance benefits if they choose to cancel their travel plans to avoid any headaches. Cancel-for-any-reason coverage is an exception, though it also comes with its own caveats.
Whether or not a policyholder gets compensated may come down to the rationale an airline provides for a delayed or canceled flight.
Many insurers only pay benefits if a delay or cancellation is attributable to a “common carrier” disruption like a mechanical failure, travel experts said.
“Airlines typically won’t cite causes other than operational terms like ‘mechanical issues’ or general delays, cancellations, or lost belongings, even during a government shutdown,” Lauren McCormick, a spokesperson for Squaremouth, an online platform for comparing travel insurance policies, wrote in a recent blog post. “So, these are generally still covered under most comprehensive travel insurance plans.”
— CNBC’s Phil LeBeau contributed to this report. More

Virtual care company Omada Health said it will start prescribing GLP-1s and other obesity drugs and help patients manage those medications.
The announcement expands the offerings under the company’s weight management program as its membership grows to more than 800,000.
The new offering will help support patients throughout their entire treatment journey, and allow the employers and health plans that Omada partners with to better support their workers’ health needs while controlling costs and improving results from obesity treatments. 

The Omada Health logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.
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Virtual care company Omada Health on Thursday said it will start prescribing GLP-1s and other obesity drugs and helping patients manage those medications.
Omada plans to expand the offerings under its weight management program as its membership grows to more than 800,000.

The announcement comes as digital health companies increase their presence in the blockbuster market for GLP-1s to treat obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions – a space that could be worth roughly $100 billion by the end of the decade, according to some analysts. Several digital health companies similarly offer prescriptions for GLP-1s, and the manufacturers of those drugs, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, are taking steps to make their treatments more accessible while also developing new ones for patients.
“The announcement is in response to our belief that access to GLP-1s will grow pretty significantly over time,” Omada co-founder and CEO Sean Duffy said in an interview. He said Omada recognizes that the market will expand beyond GLP-1 injections to pills and other “next-generation” treatments that work in different ways, underscoring the need to help patients manage their medications. 
Programs from companies like Omada aim to support lifestyle and behavioral changes for patients on those drugs, offering nutrition guidance, education and a team of health coaches and exercise specialists, among other resources, that can help people stay on the drugs longer. But Omada is now tapping licensed providers trained in obesity care to prescribe medications and help patients manage the drugs. 
The new offering will allow the company to support patients as they receive a prescription and through the time they spend on a GLP-1. That kind of support is crucial, as GLP-1 injections can be complicated for patients to use properly and often come with gastrointestinal side effects that force some people to stop treatment.
“If you need to go up in dose, down in those, switch medications – you name it. We’ll be able to support you through this experience,” Duffy said.

Omada, which partners with national and regional health plans and employers, also said the new offering is an add-on for customers to better support their workers’ health needs while controlling costs and improving results from obesity treatments. 
Also on Thursday, Omada Health reported quarterly earnings for the second time since its initial public offering in June.
The company, founded in 2011, offers virtual care programs to support patients with chronic conditions such as prediabetes, diabetes and hypertension. Omada describes its approach as a “between-visit care model” that is complementary to the broader health-care ecosystem. More

McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger told operators the brand was “moving in the right direction” as it continues a more-than-yearlong push on value.
This week McDonald’s reported third-quarter U.S. same-store sales increased more than anticipated, thanks to a boost from the $2.99 Snack Wrap launch and the introduction of its Extra Value Meals.
“While we maintained a positive comp guest count gap, overall [guest counts] continue to decline– underscoring the need for disciplined pricing, value, and affordability,” Erlinger wrote in a memo, which was viewed by CNBC.

A McDonald’s restaurant in Richmond, Virginia, US, on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images

McDonald’s leadership is urging operators to stay the course on value offerings as the competition for consumers plays out across the restaurant space.
In a memo to U.S. operators following the company’s third-quarter earnings, McDonald’s U.S. President Joe Erlinger said the brand was “moving in the right direction” as it continues a more-than-yearlong push on value.

“Amid industry pressures, dynamic change, and aggressive competition, winning the fight for contracting traffic means staying customer-obsessed,” Erlinger wrote in the memo, which was viewed by CNBC. The company did not immediately respond to request for comment.
On Wednesday, McDonald’s reported earnings per share and revenue that came in below Wall Street expectations, but its same-store sales were a bright spot, posting positive growth across all segments.
U.S. same-store sales increased more than anticipated, up 2.4%, thanks to a boost from the $2.99 Snack Wrap launch and the introduction of its Extra Value Meals, which Erlinger said drew week-to-week growth.
“While we maintained a positive comp guest count gap, overall [guest counts] continue to decline– underscoring the need for disciplined pricing, value, and affordability,” he wrote in the memo.
Erlinger said the company has “the right plan in place” and said it was poised for a strong fourth quarter, including the benefit of annual comparisons to last year’s E. coli outbreak that dented burger sales.

“We still need to keep our foot on the gas– staying focused on the customer and what we can control,” he said.
CEO Chris Kempczinski told analysts this week that the fast-food chain is seeing signs of a bifurcated consumer base among quick-service restaurants.
He noted “QSR traffic from lower-income consumers declining nearly double-digits in the third quarter, a trend that’s persisted for nearly two years.
“In contrast, QSR traffic growth among higher-income consumers remains strong, increasing nearly double-digits in the quarter. We continue to remain cautious about the health of the consumer in the U.S. and our top international markets, and believe the pressures will continue well into 2026,” he said.
In a separate memo to global operators, Kempczinski said the brand will continue to focus on “sharpening value leadership to meet evolving consumer expectations and increase traffic.”
He added McDonald’s will be “investing in high-potential menu categories– especially Chicken and Beverages– to stay competitive and drive growth.”
McDonald’s is currently testing beverages in 500 restaurants across Wisconsin and Colorado that draw on learnings from its now-shuttered beverage concept, CosMc’s. More